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Sunday, 15 July 2007

Egypt's Oldest Known Art Identified, Is 15,000 Years Old

"The rediscovered artwork—similar in look and age to iconic paintings in Spain and France—pushes "Egyptian art, religion, and culture back to a much earlier time," archaeologists say...

... There is "little doubt" the engravings are 15,000-years-old, Huyge said. They depict a now extinct species of wild cow whose horns have been recovered from Paleolithic settlements nearby.

The drawings would be examined for lichens and organic grime called "varnish rind" that could be carbon dated or subjected to another process known as uranium series dating, Huyge added. Because the rocks are inorganic, they cannot be dated directly using these methods.

In the meantime, the finding has raised a big question: How were people in Western Europe and southern Egypt producing almost identical artwork at the same time?"